Marco Rubio (left) has urged the party to reach out to Hispanic voters

The Republican Party was last night descending into a civil war over control of its political future, as recriminations raged about its failure to oust Barack Obama and take control of the US Senate.

Some conservatives warned colleagues that they risked annihilation by refusing to change and appeal to the women, younger and ethnically-diverse voters who had stood by Mr Obama since 2008.

Yet many supporters of the Tea Party movement – whose agenda was rebuked across the US – claimed Mitt Romney had actually not been conservative enough, vowing to drive the party further to the Right.

Chief among moderates' fears was Mr Romney's minority support by Hispanic voters.

Senator Marco Rubio, who is Cuban-American, called on his party to promptly heal the damage done to its image among ethnic minorities during the election, many of whom were repelled by its tough stance on immigration.

"Republicans need to work harder than ever to communicate our beliefs to them," Mr Rubio said. Senior Republicans will now come under pressure to forge a comprehensive reform of the immigration system with Mr Obama, or risk alienating swathes of voters even in Republican states such as Arizona.

21.05 (16.05) Obama spent an hour shaking hands at his campaign headquarters and is now heading back towards Air Force One and back towards a cold and grey Washington. Increasingly ugly winds here means that the President will drive back from Andrews Air Force Base back to the White House.

20.45 (15.45)John Boehner, the newly re-elected Republican Speaker of the House, has made a statement where he said he would work with the President to find a short-term way to avert the fiscal cliff before forging ahead with a long-term deficit reduction deal next year.

Mr President this is your moment. We’re ready to be led, not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans. We want you to lead, not as a liberal or a conservative, but as President of the United States of America.We want you to succeed. Let’s challenge ourselves to find the common ground that has alluded us. Let’s rise above the disfunction and do the right thing together for our country.

Boehner and Obama came close to reaching a "grand bargain" on the deficit last year but negotiations collapsed at the last minute when the Republican was unable to rally his restive party. Some optimists believe that - given how close they came and the reality that they are stuck together for at least two more years - the two men might be able to resurect meaningful negotiations.

20.00 (15.00) The President's motorcade has rolled away from his home in Hyde Park and is heading to his campaign headquarters for one final visit and round of thank you's.

19.30 (14.30) Mitt's personal aide, DG Jackson, tweets this picture of the Romney family on the morning after the night before. Romney is on the far right, wearing a tie and appearing to smile.

-

18.55 (13.55) Obama was re-elected around 12 hours and there are already getting reports of a fresh US drone strike in Yemen.

<noframe>Twitter: Drone Wars - Multiple reports from local Yemeni media of first drone strike since Obama re-elected - two killed, three injured. More soon</noframe>

18.31 (13.31) Designer Michael Kors has spoken out about the dress that Michelle Obama wore for her husband's victory speech last night. He told the Associated Press that the dress, which he designed, fit into Mrs Obama's "trademark style":

Mrs Obama looked chic and elegant as always on Election Night. My dress, with its strong color, clean lines and feminine silhouette, has all the elements that have become a part of the trademark style of our First Lady.

17.32 (12.32) Senate majority leader Harry Reid has added his voice to Mr Obama and Mr Romney's earlier calls for bipartisanship - in particular in the face of the looming fiscal issues. At a news conference he said:

We have to sit down and go to work on it now, not wait. This was really the message the American people sent.

Obviously as these (states) fell by narrow margins throughout the evening (it was) not a good feeling, not a good sight... The Republican Party came up short among Latinos and we need to do better. We made some inroads with women, particularly single women (but) we need to do better in attracting women’s votes. We failed to make a strong economic case – 59 per cent of the American people felt that the economy was the number one issue – we should have been, could have been stronger on that.

17.15 (12.15) Our journalist colleagues at Sky take some gentle ribbing from Twitter:

17.04 (12.04) The European markets have closed down today as life returns to, well, normal (see 14.35). Reuters sum up:

European stocks fell sharply on Wednesday after persistent worries over the euro zone economy and fiscal problems in the United States eclipsed initial relief over U.S. President Barack Obama's re-election.

European stocks had rallied in morning trade and the FTSEurofirst 300 hit a level not seen for nearly two months as Obama's win fuelled hopes the U.S. Federal Reserve would maintain its loose monetary policy.

But a fresh gloomy take on the outlook for the European economy, this time from the European Commission, which said the euro zone economy would barely grow next year, kick-started a long slide into the close for European indexes.

And while investors were relieved over Obama's win, they remained concerned about the U.S. "fiscal cliff" of about $600 billion in spending cuts and tax hikes set to begin early 2013, which could jeopardise growth.

Celebrations in New York's Times Square after Mr Obama's victory last night. Picture: REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

16.13 (11.13) While celebrating the power of women in this election, we haven't yet discussed the fact that Todd Akin - he of the "legitimate rape" controversy -was defeated in his senate bid.

Akin, who was disowned by Republican leaders including Mr Romney after he remarked in August that women's bodies have ways of avoiding pregnancy in cases of what he called "legitimate rape", lost to incumbent Claire MacAskill in Missouri.

National Republican Policy Chairman Jason Whitman had some harsh words for Akin last night:

<noframe>Twitter: Jason B. Whitman - I just want to say a quick thank you to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/ToddAkin" target="_blank">@ToddAkin</a> for helping us lose the senate.</noframe>

The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 1.2pc and the S&P 500 1.3pc dropped this afternoon following the re-election of Barack Obama and amid fresh concerns over the health of the European economy.

Republican contender Mitt Romney was seen by some analysts as the more business-friendly candidate, while Douglas McWilliams, the head of the Centre for Economic Business Research, told Sky News before the election that the Dow Jones could spike 500 points because his victory had not been priced in by the markets.

Analysts are now also looking ahead to the challenge posed by negotiations over the so-called fiscal cliff, a collection of tax rises and spending cuts that are due to be implemented in the new year.

Concerns over Europe are also weighing on global stock markets today, after the European Commission slashed its 2013 growth forecast for the EU economy from 1pc to 0.1pc. That has dragged on shares in London, Spain, France, Germany and Italy, where stock markets have all fallen.

City reporter Rebecca Clancy has this point to add::

Voters left Congress divided, with Democrats maintaining the Senate and Republicans holding the House of Representatives.

"By returning a divided government to Washington, the electorate has given neither party a clear mandate to address the lackluster recovery, the fiscal cliff, and the looming debt crisis," said Brian Kessler at Moody's Analytics.

14.21 (09.21) Well here's an alarming tidbit that highlights once again how funky the electoral college system is. It is starting to look as though Mr Romney lost the popular vote by a margin of about one percent. One percent!

From Reuters:

The nationwide popular vote remained extremely close with Obama taking about 50 percent to 49 percent for Romney... But in the state-by-state system of electoral votes that decides the White House, Obama notched up a comfortable victory.

So, a popular mandate for Mr Obama yes, but not exactly a comfortable one. And I'm not sure that makes the loss any easier to bear for Mr Romney - to be so close, yet so far! Gutting. If I were him, this would be the moment I'd start researching how to revamp America's archaic voting process.

14.08 (09.08) Mr Obama was joking about his grey hairs during the last day of the campaign. Now Businessweek has released an image projecting what the president may look like four years from today:

13.34 (08.34) Election night has been known to cause mayhem for journalists, and last night it appears that of all the newsrooms in all the world, US network ABC took the brunt of it.

Anchors Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos were manning the desk in the network's Times Square studio when, at 10.52 pm, the power suddenly went out.

At the time the results were in full flow and millions were watching. ABC News president Ben Sherwood noted: "In the universe of things that can go wrong, this is a big one". Fortunately, they were back to full power within ten minutes.

An ABC spokesman did not comment when queried on Ms Sawyer by the Associated Press.

12.55 (07.55) With the dust settling on last night, for many are starting to theorise that while Mr Romney may not have been the right man to take on Mr Obama, the greater fault for his election loss can not be laid solely at his feet.

This failure began with the spectacle of the extended primary season, which was dominated by candidates with views far outside the political mainstream. Rick Santorum rejected the separation of church and state. Newt Gingrich challenged the notion of judicial supremacy. Michele Bachmann claimed the government had been infiltrated by radical Muslims. Donald Trump refused to recognize the validity of Obama’s birth certificate. Rick Perry wanted to take down more parts of the federal government than he could successfully name. In the debates, the country saw the GOP talking to itself and sounding like a bizarre fringe party, not a responsible governing one.

Romney is not a right-wing extremist. To win the nomination, though, he had to feign being one, recasting himself as “severely conservative” and eschewing the reasonableness that made him a successful, moderate governor of the country’s most liberal state.

There's really only one way forward, isn't there. The 2012 election has already been over for nearly ten hours. Bring on Hillary 2016!

10.58 (05.58) The timing of the US election results always presents newspapers elsewhere with a bit of a conundrum when it comes to their print editions, trickling in as they do overnight. Elaborate strategies are worked out, special print runs sorted, and extra staff laid on through the night as they do their best to bring the most up to date news to their readers.

But not in Belgium! On behalf of journalists who've had to work US election night shifts everywhere, I hereby propose that Fleet Street adopt this policy (reported by the Associated Press) for the poll in 2016:

Het Laastste Nieuws produced with two front pages Wednesday, asking readers to "pick your cover." One was headlined "It's Obama" while another, folded inside, read "It's Romney." Both had profiles of the winner and analysis.

By the time newspaper stands opened, readers knew the outcome and could remove the wrong one.

De Morgen cut its front page in half, with one side saying "Mitt Romney President" and the other "Barack Obama President." On the Romney side it said "Please turn quickly if Obama is the winner."

Le Soir's front page screamed "Obama," followed on the left with "Has Lost - read page 2" and on the right "Has Won - read page 3."

It's like a Choose Your Own Adventure. Someone should send Mr Romney copies of the "It's Romney" editions. Or is that a bit cruel?

10.49 (05.49) Now that Hammertime is firmly stuck in your head, a slightly more sobering note from Salman Rushdie, who sums up in 140 characters the reasons Mr Obama's victory last night was different from 2008:

<noframe>Twitter: Salman Rushdie - Four years ago it was a feeling of joy. This time the main feeling was relief that we don't have to wake up tomorrow in Romney's America.</noframe>

10.37 (05.37) Whew, that's quite a stretch of serious posts all at once, isn't it! Time to break it down.

10.26 (05.26) As noted earlier, the results beyond the presidential vote show a definite swerve away from Republican policies and ideology. Telegraph Chief Foreign Correspondent David Blair has written a more in-depth examination of this, looking at how population dynamics in America are shifting, and the Republicans are paying the price.

Republicans acknowledge that, for the moment, the playing field of US politics is steadily tilting against them. "The demographics race we're losing badly," said Lindsey Graham, the Republican Senator from South Carolina in the "Washington Post". "We're not generating enough angry white guys to stay in business for the long-term."

...

The key to Republican success in future presidential elections will be winning over America's minorities, starting with the Hispanics. Judging by Mr Romney's performance, nominating a candidate in the traditional mould of a wealthy white male will not be the way to achieve that.

10.20 (05.20) Telegraph reporter Andrew Hough has rounded up the reactions of world leaders to Mr Obama's re-election, starting with David Cameron's warm congratulations to "my friend".

Chinese leader Hu Jintao also offered his best wishes just hours before China undergoes its own power transition. A Chinese goverment spokesman said:

President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao sent messages of congratulations to President Obama on his being re-elected president of the United States

09.59 (04.54) Pollster Nate Silver, who predicted an Obama landslide, called every single state right:

09.21 (04.21) The euphoria aside, this election marks a sharp liberal turn for the US. Voters in various states tackled gay marriage, cannabis and abortion, elected America's first openly gay senator (Tammy Baldwin in Paul Ryan's home state of Wisconsin), and essentially put the entire state of New Hampshire under control of women by electing its first all-female delegation.

It seems pretty clear that the Republicans are going to have to rethink their stance on a lot of social issues.

09.11 (04.11) News of President Obama's victory has been greeted with jubilation both in America and abroad. But there is one man - one titan of business slash reality TV star slash political "pundit" - who is, on Twitter at least, raging against the dying of the Republican light. And it's not Karl Rove.

Donald Trump, seemingly regretting the outpouring of emotion, has already deleted some of the more hysterical tweets he posted in the minutes after the election was called. Fortunately for us, Buzzfeed had already screengrabbed them. They take us through the Four Stages of Donald Trump's Obama Victory Grief.

<noframe>Twitter: Donald J. Trump - Lets fight like hell and stop this great and disgusting injustice! The world is laughing at us.</noframe>

09.04 (04.04) And of course, in case you missed it, today's Daily Telegraph:

08.36 (03.36) There's been a few interesting editorial choices made on the US newspaper front pagesthis morning - from comparing Obama to Caesar, to the retro use of black and white photographs on page one of the New York Times and the Miami Herald.

I happen to believe that he was also right. He was right that the private sphere is more important than the public. Right that there is such a thing as moral liberty. Right that America needs to leverage its democracy and idealism overseas. Right that America needs a change of direction. The American people apparently didn’t share my verdict. Hey, that’s all in the game, too. The important thing is that Romney played it as well as he could.

Two points worth noting about this election. First, the Religious Right – and how dated that phrase already sounds – united around a candidate who, by most standards, is not even a Christian. The lack of an anti-Mormon backlash among orthodox Catholics and Protestants who were brought up to regard Latter-day Saints as sinister cultists tells its own story. Also, and here I'm going out on a limb, American has just re-elected its first post-Christian president (unless you count Jefferson). I've never thought that Barack Obama's churchgoing was anything more than Chicago politics: why else would a sophisticated Harvard-educated lawyer sit through years of incoherent ranting by the Rev Jeremiah Wright?

Despite his comfortable win in the Electoral College this was a hard-scrabble victory: not a grand endorsement of Mr Obama’s first term, but a begrudging recognition that the last four years have been hard on everyone. Contrary to what Mr Obama proclaimed in 2008, there never were any miracle cures.

07.51 (02.51) With Mr Obama's "Four more years" tweet becoming the most popular post in the history of Twitter within just 22 minutes, Kate Day, the Telegraph's Social Media Editor, has flagged up some of the site's other election night statistics:

<noframe>Twitter: Kate Day - RT <a href="http://www.twitter.com/gov" target="_blank">@gov</a>: After 100 million votes and 31.7 million Tweets, our recap of election day on Twitter: <a href="http://t.co/NeFJ8zdP" target="_blank">http://t.co/NeFJ8zdP</a></noframe>

Reaction is flooding in from around the world and we'll be covering it all right here. So stick with us!

07.15 (02.15) Good morning Telegraph readers! Sarah Titterton is picking up the blog here in London after a marathon effort by Raf Sanchez... and I have some excellent news to impart to those of you who are just waking up: the world can now look forward to four more years of The Onion writing Joe Biden fan fiction!

<noframe>Twitter: Ryan J. Reilly - Democrat or Republican, we can all agree that four more years of The Onion's Joe Biden will be great for America.</noframe>

07.10 (02.10) The White House just emailed out the President's schedule for tomorrow - in the afternoon he returns to the capital and gets back to work. Tonight, he and his supporters celebrate in Chicago.

I'm going to call it a night now and hand over to London. It's been another extraordinary day in America and it's been a privilege reporting it.

07.05 (02.05) It was speech of unyielding optimism. Not the airy hopefulness of 2008 but a forged in fire belief that the United States can keep moving forward, despite the myriad of difficulties that lie before it.

I believe we can seize this future together because we are not as divided as our politics suggests, we're not as cynical as the pundits believe, we are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions. We remain more than a collection of red states and blue states, we remain and always will be the United States of America. And together - with your help and God's grace - we will continue our journey forward and remind the world just why it is that we live in the greatest nation on Earth.

07.01 (02.01) And he's done. Michelle and the girls come onstage, followed by Joe Biden, his wife Jill and the extended family.

07.00 (02.00) A president elected on a promise of hope returns to that word, defining it as "that stubborn thing that exists inside of us despite all the evidence to the contrary that something better awaits us".

06.55 (01.55) And now to the future.

Our economy is recovering, our decade of war is coming to an end, a long campaign now over.

Whether I earned your vote or not I've listened to you. I have learned from you and you have made me a better president. With you stories and your struggles I return to the White House more determined and more inspired than ever about the work there's to do and about the future that lies ahead.

Tonight you voted for action, not politics as usual. You elected us to focus on your jobs, not ours.

06.50 (01.50) Obama says that both Democrats and Republicans share the desire to pass on a country that is "not burdened by debt, weakened by inequality, threatened by a warming planet".

06.45 (01.45) The President says he knows campaigns can seem small but they matter - from looking after veterans, to creating jobs, to educating the next generation.

06.15 (01.15) The stage in Chicago was initially a lonely podium in front of a vast red curtain - the sober set ready for a President to concede power. That curtain has gone now to reveal bleachers of cheering supporters. They're waving American flags instead of Obama signs to mark the end of the campaign and the beginning of a second term.

06.10 (01.10) My prediction: Romney will disappear from Republican politics now. He never loved the party and the party never loved him. Paul Ryan is probably one of its future leaders and a very strong contender for 2016. But for Mitt and the GOP this is goodbye.

06.02 (01.02) Romney looks like he's almost in tears as he says that he and Paul Ryan gave the campaign everything they had.

I believe in America. I believe in the people of America and I ran for office because I'm concerned about America.

The whole family emerges briefly, including a devastated-looking Ann Romney. "She would have been a wonderful First Lady," Mr Romney says sadly.

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06.00 (01.00) Romney emerges alone onto the stage and says he has called the President "to congratulate him on his victory".

This is a time of great challenges for America and I pray that President will be successful in guiding our nation.

05.47 (00.47) We're expecting Romney to emerge in the next five minutes to finally deliver his concession. He has a row of 12 American flags behind him, intended to serve as the backdrop for his first speech as President-elect. For Romney this is the end of six solid years of running for President and many more of coveting the White House. He has failed, just as his father did, did to become America's leader.

05.40 (00.40) Obama will speak before a crowd of around 10,000 at McCormick Place tonight, only a fraction of the number that were in Grant Park to hear him declare that "change has come to America". Expect a more muted speech tonight, where Obama acknowledges the division and calls for unity but also demands that the other respect the mandate he has renewed tonight.

05.35 (00.35) The New York Times has called Virginia for Obama but the networks are still hanging back. We're still waiting to hear about Florida.

05.28 (00.28) But lest anyone think that Obama has America united behind him, take a look at the current popular vote. Mitt Romney is leading by 335 votes. Not 335,000 but 335. The numbers:

Obama: 49,028,645

Romney: 49,028,980

That number will change over the course of the evening, and Obama will still probably win the popular vote. But America remains a deeply divided nation.

05.22 (00.22) The cause of gay rights also made major strides forward in America. Tammy Baldwin is going to become the first openly gay member of the United States Senate following her victory in Wisconsin. And in Maryland a referendum on gay marriage has passed.

<noframe>Twitter: Ryan J. Reilly - O'Malley on gay marriage: &ldquo;To Maryland&rsquo;s children &ndash; please know that you and your families matter to the people of our State."</noframe>

05.16 (00.16) Todd Akin, the social conservative who became a lightning rod for Democrat anger after he suggested that women don't get pregnant in cases of "legitimate rape", has been defeated in Missouri.

05.10 (00.10) Obama and his aides are still waiting at the hotel, apparently for Romney to call and concede that the 2012 election is over and that the White House will remain in Democratic hands.

05.00 (00.00) Just 42 minutes the Obama campaign put out this message on Twitter. It is now the most popular tweet of all time. We live in an extraordinary world.

<noframe>Twitter: Barack Obama - Four more years. <a href="http://t.co/bAJE6Vom" target="_blank">http://t.co/bAJE6Vom</a></noframe>

04.55 (23.55) The choreography of the next few hours isn't quite clear. Apparently some in the Romney camp are disputing the Ohio call so it's possible they may refuse to concede for some time. In that case the President may take the stage first and deliver his victory speech regardless of what's happening in Boston.

04.50 (23.50) Barack Obama is often derided by as a aloof, professorial and disconnected. But tonight he reminded the country that he is among the most talented politicians of his generation, delivering a commanding victory in the face of a faltering economy and a bloody-minded determined opposition. This is a big, big night for progressive America.

04.40 (23.40) The Associated Press has now called Colorado for the President. Obama isn't going to win the 365 electoral votes he got last time but the final result of this election isn't even going to be close.

04.38 (23.38) Romney's motorcade is getting ready to move towards the Boston convention centre where he will deliver his concession speech. Here's a reminder of how John McCain yielded exactly four years ago.

04.35 (23.35) Fox News is on the verge of civil war as Karl Rove, one of the channel's leading pundits demands that it justify its decision to call the election. Its anchors have marched into its decision room to interrogate the programme's producers. They say they are "very comfortable" with their decision.

<noframe>Twitter: Nico Hines - Fox is currently must watch TV. Presenters saying "not so fast" on their own network's call of Ohio. Rove furious</noframe>

04.30 (23.30) The Romney campaign is disputing the networks' decision to call Ohio for Obama. But it's too late - there was never a single moment tonight when it looked like the Republicans were going to win this election and no one really believes that Ohio will turn red.

04.25 (23.25) The Obama campaign tweets this picture and that simple phrase that Democrats have been waiting to hear: Four more years.

<noframe>Twitter: Barack Obama - Four more years. <a href="http://t.co/bAJE6Vom" target="_blank">http://t.co/bAJE6Vom</a></noframe>

04.20 (23.20) And there it is: Barack Obama has been re-elected as President of the United States of America. Four years after he entered the White House on a wave of hope an older and tougher commander-in-chief has been granted another four years.

04.15 (23.15) Let's pause for a moment and be clear about what is happening in America tonight: short of some sort of divine intervention Barack Obama is on course to win a second term as President of the United States.

04.12 (23.12) Last night Obama held an emotional finally rally in Iowa, the state that first breathed life into his presidential ambitions. Tonight, his supporters go wild as CNN projects that the Hawkeye state has kept the faith and is turning blue for Obama.

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04.10 (23.10)Eric Erickson, the editor of RedState.com and one of Romney's most aggressive media supporters is tweeting that he believes it's game over the for the Republican cause. A lot could still happen but there is a growing chorus of despair from conservatives.

<noframe>Twitter: Erick Erickson - Dear President Obama's Team: Thanks at least for not making us have to stay up all night.</noframe>

04.06 (23.06) CNN is now calling Wisconsin for Obama. The entire Midwest is now blue except for the state of Ohio.

04.05 (23.05) Polls close on the West Coast and with that California's 55 votes have marched into Obama's column. There are huge cheers at Obama's rally in Chicago as they his electoral vote tally surges forward.

04.00 (23.00)Al Gore, a man has who spent more time thinking about the importance of Florida than anyone else, predicts it will go for the President. If you were a Democrat would you welcome a prophecy like that? Not sure.

<noframe>Twitter: Al Gore - I am confident in saying that President Obama is going to carry the state of Florida tonight. <a href="http://t.co/j8NJbPob" target="_blank">http://t.co/j8NJbPob</a> <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=Current2012" target="_blank">#Current2012</a></noframe>

03.55 (22.55) Obama has left his home and driven to the Fairmont hotel, where and the First Family will wait in one of the suites and continue to watch the results flow in. There's only one more stop after this - the convention centre where his increasingly hopeful supporters are waiting.

03.50 (22.50) Will it all end in Florida? 88 per cent of the vote has been counted and Obama is up by 16,000 votes. There are still ballots to be counted but right now they look to be in Miami-Dade, a Democrat county.

03.45 (22.45) The Democrats have won the Senate's marquee race in Massachusetts and Elizabeth Warren will replace Scott Brown as the Bay State's junior senator. Brown, who upended the political world by winning Ted Kennedy's old seat, is conceding in Boston now. Not far away Romney's staff must be watching him concede defeat and wondering how their own night is going to end.

<noframe>Twitter: Cynthia Needham - Brown: "She won it fair and square folks. And she has received the high honor of holding the People's seat." <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=masen" target="_blank">#masen</a></noframe>

03.40 (22.40) For months and months and months we have been told Ohio was the centre of the political universe and would crown the next President of the United States. That may still prove true but there is a distinct possibility that Florida may steal the show. If Obama wins there then suddenly the Midwest may not matter.

03.10 (22.10) Two new battleground exit polls and both spell more gloom for Boston.

Nevada Obama: 51 Romney: 46

Iowa Obama: 52 Romney: 46

So far, Romney has only taken one of the states that Obama won in 2008 - Indiana, which the Democrats didn't contest this year. Romney needs some good new - any good news - soon.

03.05 (22.05) We are at 86 per cent of votes counted in Florida and Obama is still ahead. As I said in my list of things to watch - if the Republicans are defeated in Florida then they fall at the first hurdle.

02.57 (21.57) Multiple networks are now calling New Hampshire for Obama, meaning Romney has lost the state where he launched his campaign and where he owns a summer home. The walls are beginning to close in on Romney and very soon he is going to have no path left to 270.

With more than 80 per cent of the vote counted in Florida, the lead is continually changing with neither candidate leading by more than a few hundred votes at a time.

At times the margin has been fewer than 200 votes. It's worth remembering that The Gore v Bush 2000 debacle was a 537 vote margin. Under Florida law a recount will be triggered if the margin of victory is less than a half of one percent which, going by the numbers at the last election, means one candidate needs to win by a margin of at least 40,000.

The latest numbers show Obama up by about 20,00 but you would be crazy to call it now.

02.45 (21.45)Rob Portman, the Republican Senator from Ohio is addressing Romney's Boston supporters by video link. He says that the campaign's efforts in the Buckeye State have been beyond anything Republicans have ever done before. But there's no mistaking the heaviness in his voice - it's not looking good for Team Romney in Ohio. Alex Spillius takes the temperature in Boston.

From Romney-Ryan HQ, big cheeses in the campaign are doing their best to sound upbeat. Senator Rob Portman of Ohio says he has "been so proud to be part of this great effort". Ed Gillespie, senior strategist, says "we are confident about where our votes are". Hmmm.

02.30 (21.30) Our Kabul correspondent, Ben Farmer, is at the US embassy where the enthusiasm hasn't quite translated.

Scores of bleary-eyed Afghan and international journalists have gathered for an early morning election result reception at the US embassy in Kabul. The political counsellor is attempting to explain the US voting system. Tough job at 6am.

-

02.20 (21.20) The networks are calling Pennsylvania for Obama now, a state that Romney visited just today in an effort to open a new path that doesn't go through Ohio. He can still make 270 but the road is getting narrower with every passing hour.

02.10 (21.10) Polls have closed now across the plains and the heartland and CNN is now calling Michigan for Obama. This is really big and fits the theme of the night: states that Romney was supposed to run it close he is trailing badly.

Some more exit polls:

Colorado Obama: 48 Romney: 48

Wisconsin Obama: 52 Romney: 46

02.00 (21.00) Polls have closed now across the plains and the heartland and CNN is now calling Michigan for Obama. This fits the theme of the night: states that were Romney was supposed to run it close he is trailing badly.

01.50 (20.50) Gail Gitcho, Romney's communications director, has just appeared on the big screens in Boston trying to reassure increasingly anxious supporters."We're hearing reports of people standing in line. Our message to those people in line: stay in line," she says.

01.40 (20.40) We have 60 per cent of the vote counted in Florida and Obama is leading 51-49. That's a tiny margin and there's time for Romney to close the gap but it will have to come soon. In Chicago they may be beginning to indulge in the idea that they win Florida and end election night almost before it begins.

01.35 (20.35) Could the deeply-divided US bear a repeat of the Florida 2000 recount?

<noframe>Twitter: Alex Spillius - Met an <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=obama" target="_blank">#obama</a> supporter in Boston tonight who said he would rather have <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=Romney" target="_blank">#Romney</a> as president than hanging chads redux.</noframe>

01.30 (20.30) More bad news for Republican Senate hopes: the Democrats have held off a challenge from Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive who poured $100m into her candidacy, are going to win in Connecticut, the AP reports.

01.24 (20.24) A little bit of news from the Senate, and it's bad but expected for the GOP:

Maine - the moderate Republican Olympia Snowe announced she was retiring earlier this year and her seat has now been won by Angus King, an independent who is likely to caucus with the Democrats.

Florida - Democrat Ben Nelson has held off a well-financed but poorly-run challenge from Connie Mack.

Indiana - it's too early to call but with 30 per cent of the vote counted Richard Mourdockis trailing behind Joe Donnelly by four points.

01.20 (20.20) The nice thing about having a big family: you've got lots of faces to send out to face your supporters as they wait for results to come in.

<noframe>Twitter: Matt Viser - Craig Romney is first person to appear on stage. "What a night we have here tonight," Romney's youngest says. "What an honor to be here."</noframe>

01.16 (20.16) The map is starting to fill and it's happening in predictable ways. The North East is turning blue, along with the President's home state of Illinois, while the South begins to glow red into Romney's column. No surprises yet but Romney camp is still waiting for some good news.

01.10 (20.10) And the state that we've all been musing over: Pennsylvania. The CNN exit poll put Obama ahead 52-47. If that comes true it's a slightly lower margin of victory than 2008 but it shows Romney's feint into the Keystone State had no real substance behind it.

Again: these are only exit polls. We need to wait for some actual numbers.

01.00 (20.00) Two more exit polls from the battlegrounds.

Florida Obama: 50 Romney: 49

New Hampshire Obama: 50 Romney: 48

It's the same theme we've seen from the exit polls so far: Romney is level in states that he needs to win to have any chance of taking the presidency. It is so early in the night but at this stage you would rather be in Chicago than Boston.

00.52 (19.52) In 10 minutes the trickle of exit polls turns into a cascade as 15 state plus the District of Columbia close their polls. Among them are New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Florida.

00.45 (19.45)Jon Husted, Ohio's Republican Secretary of State and the man presiding over voting in the Buckeye State, has announced the counting has begun.

If there are legal battles in Ohio Jon Husted is a name we are all going to become very, very familiar with.

00.35 (19.35) A reminder of what the 2008 map looked like: Obama won every single one of the battleground states that we're discussing tonight.

00.30 (19.30) Here we go: CNN's exit polls put Obama three points ahead in Ohio on 51-48. In North Carolina, a state that Romney was supposed to win clearly, the score is level 49-49.

Again - these are just exit polls but. But again - Romney would have wanted to be clearly ahead in North Carolina.

00.28 (19.28) Polls close in two minutes but voters can still cast their ballots as long as they stay in line.

00.22 (19.22) Obama is back at his Chicago house eating dinner with Michelle, the girls and a handful of close family and friends. Is there a TV on in the background? Are aides slipping discreetly in to update the candidate?

00.18 (19.18) Our chief foreign correspondent, David Blair, is at the US Embassy party in London and sends this update:

The UK political and media glitterati are gathering for the election party at the US embassy in London. There is mayhem inside, lots of screens but no-one can hear what's going on. The real aficionados have found the embassy cinema in a basement and are watching there.

00.15 (19.15) The Obama campaign just sent out texts to supporters in Washington and Virginia asking them to help ensure that people still in line get to vote. Make of that what you will.

00.10 (19.10) Let's whisper this because we have a long night ahead: that exit poll in Virginia is not what Romney would have wanted. Virginia is key brick in the foundation he needs to 270 and if he loses it he will really struggle to keep his hopes alive throughout the night. The Republicans would have liked to have Virginia in the bag so they could move forward.

That said - these are just exit polls and may not reflect the final result.

00.00 (19.00) The polls have just closed in Virginia and CNN's exit poll puts the two men neck and neck at 49 per cent. Obama's aides are briefing that African-American voters are turning out in bigger numbers there than in 2008, which would be a good sign for the President. But it is very, very early doors.

We're putting Vermont, the tiny New England state into Obama's column and Kentucky, one of the deep red southern states into Romney's.

23.55 (18.55) We are five minutes away from things starting to get really interesting. At 7pm polls close in Virginia and we will have get our first real glimpse of what's happening out there. The place to watch Loudon County in the surburbs of Washington DC - it was the key to Obama's 2008 win in Virginia and the kind of place Romney needs to win if he is going to take back Old Dominion.

23.50 (18.50) Paul Ryan has now landed in Boston and is heading into the city to join the Romney family. There is a certain father-son vibe to the relationship between the two Republicans, which makes sense given that Ryan is exactly the same age as Romney's oldest son, Tagg.

23.45 (18.45) Michelle Obama's Facebook account has posted this picture along with the caption: "she voted for him for the same reason she married him—his character". The whole campaign seems to be getting sentimental as they ask Americans to support Barack Obama one last time. It's a nostalgia barrage.

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23.40 (18.40) Romney is at his Boston hotel and, like the rest of the country, is settling down to watch the results come in.

<noframe>Twitter: Jon Ward - Translation: Romney is not expected to move from his hotel for four hours</noframe>

23.32 (18.32) Two more little nuggets from CNN's national exit poll. When asked who would better handle the economy 50 per cent went for Romney and 47 per cent went for Obama. But on the question of who is "more in touch with people like you" voters went 52 per cent for the President and 44 per cent for the challenger.

23.30 (18.30) Romney has told his press corps that he only has one speech written - a victory address - and it is 1,118 words long.

Speaking on the flight back from Pennsylvania he told reporters that he had no regrets at the end of a presidential campaign six years in the making.

I feel like we put it all on the field. We left nothing in the locker room. We fought to the very end, and I think that's why we'll be successful

23.20 (18.20) Malia and Sasha, the First Kids, still had to go to school today and are flying out to Chicago this evening in time for dinner with their parents.

Sasha (second from right) and Malia (right) at the Democratic convention)

Per the pool report:

This afternoon, the girls flew into Chicago after school along with their grandmother, Marian Robinson. Tonight, the First Family will have dinner together along with Mrs. Robinson. This evening, the First Lady’s brother, Craig and his family will join the Obamas and the President’s sister, Maya and her husband to watch the Election night returns.

23.15 (18.15) Rick Klein, the senior Washington editor for ABC News, has just tweeted this snippet. It's not clear if it comes from an internal ABC poll but again - if true - it would be a good sign for the Obama campaign.

23.10 (18.10) It's very early days but the first indication is that the composition of the electorate this year looks quite similar to 2008, which would be a good thing for the President. Caution required: it's very early days but these are some of the breakdowns from CNN.

Around 18 per cent of the nation electorate was aged 18-29, the same figure as the 2008. If that holds it would appear to indicate young voters didn't stay home, and the young break overwhelmingly for Obama.

The electorate was 73 per cent white, about what it was in 2008 but 10 per cent Latino - a slight rise on 2008. Again, Latinos break overwhelmingly for Obama so that could be a good sign.

Most important of all: we need to wait and see.

22.58 (17.58) Twitter is full of people foaming at the mouth at the slightest wisp of a hint of news and the brave souls trying to restrain them.

<noframe>Twitter: tedfrank - Remember: 1) early unmodulated exit polls are garbage; 2) early VA returns will be heavily GOP, with blue counties reporting later at night.</noframe>

22.50 (17.50)David Plouffe, Obama's thin-lipped senior advisor, is on CNN looking about as excited as if he was commenting on a local council election. He almost seems to yawn when asked whether Pennsylvania is really in play:

Mitt Romney would need two-thirds of the independent vote to win. He's probably not going to do that in any state let alone Pennsylvania. We feel confident that at the end of the night Pennsylvania will be Obama blue.

22.45 (17.45) Obama has rolled out of his Hyde Park house, we think to go do a few more interviews from the Fairmont hotel.

In Pinellas County, Florida, some 12,000 voters received an automated call from the supervisor of elections wrongly informing them that they had until 7pm on Wednesday to vote. The deadline is 7pm Tuesday. I’ve just been to the local Obama Campaign office in Pinellas Park and they said the erroneous message has caused problems.

Ajla Subasic, a campaign volunteer, said: “We have been getting calls and emails asking ‘what’s going on?’ and we have had to send people out to neighbourhoods to let people know that they have to vote today.”

Rick Kriseman, a Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives, even hinted at a possible conspiracy. “The question is, whose homes did those calls go to?” he said. “Certainly we have been pushing as hard as we can to try and get people out to vote. Anything that is a message contrary to that we view as damaging.”

22.30 (17.30) Half an hour until the first polls begin to close in Indiana and Kentucky.

22.00 (17.00) Sandy is gone but the East coast weather remains wild:

<noframe>Twitter: CNBC - ALERT: United Airlines announces the company will suspend most N.Y. flights on Wednesday and Thursday as a result of winter storm forecast.</noframe>

21.45 (16.45) We are now an hour and a half away from from the first polls beginning to close in Kentucky and Indiana. Both are deep red states and although Obama won Indiana in 2008 there's no chance of that happening tonight. So Romney is likely to be the first one to put electoral college votes on the board with 19.

But that's not to say Indiana is of no interest: Richard Mourdock, the Tea Party Republican who infamously said that pregnancies resulting from rape are "something that God intended to happen", is trailing by three points in his Senate race there. If his campaign collapses so do any lingering Republican hopes of gaining control of the Senate.

21.30 (16.30) Obama has returned to his house in Chicago's Hyde Park for a few hours of quiet before heading to the convention centre where he will give his speech tonight. His staff will have two texts ready to go: one proudly declaring that the work of change goes on, the other admitting defeat and the end of the Obama presidency.

21.20 (16.20) Paul Ryan told reporters he was "running on fumes" earlier as he joined his running mate for the final hours of the 2012 election. By the end of the night he should know whether he is going to be the 48th Vice President of the United States or if he's heading back to the House of Representatives.

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21.10 (16.10) CNN reports that Obama's aides are briefing they are seeing a higher-than-expected turnout among black voters in Pennsylvania and Virginia. If true, that's very good news for the President, who can count of 90 plus per cent support among African-Americans. But at this stage the campaigns will say pretty much anything as they insist their guys is on course for victory.

20.55 (15.55) Romney has just been speaking to volunteers in Pennsylvania, telling them that Obama is not a bad man but he has to go.

He is a good father and has been a good example of a good father, but it is time for a new direction.

20.50 (15.50) I spoke to a couple of Obama staffers in Virginia a little earlier to try to get their sense of what was going on. Two things jumped out:

1. Like their candidate, they were exhausted. Even over the phone you can hear the hoarseness of their voices and the fatigue in their words.

2. They simply don't know what's going to happen. In their own districts they report seeing enthusiasm and that their ground operation today makes the famed 2008 machine "look prehistoric". But they simply have no honest idea if they're going to win.

That's the beauty of elections: they're great levelers. The candidates, the staff and the pundits really don't know anymore than the voters until those counts start coming in.

20.30 (15.30)Jonathan Wynne-Jones has been speaking to staff on Paul Ryan's other campaign - his all-but-certain re-election as the representative for Wisconsin's First Congressional District.

Kevin Seifert, campaign manager for Paul Ryan's re-election bid for Congress, tells me the weather won't affect voter turn-out, but the line at the polling station has dwindled as the rain has started to come down.

"We're used to cold weather in Wisconsin. It won't affect people as they're excited to get out and vote. They want their voices to be heard."

He says he's hopeful that the Romney can repeat the success of the state's Republican Governor Scott Walker who defeated attempts to recall him this summer.

"We have a very strong ground game here as we went through this with the Walker recall and showed we can win."

20.20 (15.20) Romney has arrived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where supporters are crowding the roof of a nearby building to catch a glimpse of him as he heads toward his campaign offices.

Why is Romney in Pennsylvania? It depends who you ask. What's indisputable is that Pennsylvania has a very limited early voting programme and so around 90 per cent of its votes will be cast today. That makes it a much richer election day target than somewhere like Virginia, where a lot of people have voted before Election Day.

But after that the answer gets partisan. Obama's team have described this a desperate act from a Republican candidate who know he's going to lose Ohio. Romney's team are saying they have a real opportunity to snatch Pennsylvania and blow the election wide open.

Real Clear Politics's tracking shows that the polls have narrowed slightly but the President remains just under four points ahead.

20.15 (15.15) Biden's aircraft has touched down at Chicago's O'Hare airport and is now sitting near Air Force One. The Vice President is headed downtown but isn't expected to join the basketball.

19.50 (14.50) Our own Mark Hughes reports that volunteers at Romney headquarters in Tampa are working just as hard as their candidate to mobilise voters in the Sunshine State.

The place is packed with volunteers who are hitting the phones in an attempt to secure last-minute votes for their man.

Hillsborough County, where Tampa is, has correctly called every election bar one since 1960. "How goes Hillsborough county, so goes the nation" I was told by more than one person.

Two particularly dedicated volunteers were Daniel Lula and Nichole Meissner. The 36-year-olds travelled 2,500 miles from their homes in Orange County, California, to volunteer in Tampa this week.

Daniel explained: “California will go for Obama, everyone knows that. We wanted to help the Mitt Romney campaign and we know Florida is key. He can't win without it.”

19.40 (14.40) While Obama shoots hoops with Arne Duncan, his Education Secretary, and Reggie Love, his former personal aide, Romney is still pushing for every last vote. He appeared on a radio programme in Virginia just now urging people to "vote for change".

I think people in Virginia understand how important this election is to the country and to themselves and to their families. And I think they voted for change last time. They didn’t get it. I think if they vote for change this time I’m going to win.

19.35 (14.35) Remember Ron Paul, the libertarian Texan congressman who fought Romney for the nomination? Even if with only a few hours til polls close he is still refusing to endorse the Republican standard bearer. He was asked whether it was finally time to back Romney and replied:

Oh not quite, because I don't think there's enough difference between the two candidates. I assume the victor today will be the status quo because the status quo has been up and there's been no competition and so we'll continue with basically the same policies that we've had for a long time.

19.15 (14.15) Our own Richard Blackden is on Staten Island, where polling staff are making do in seriously rudimentary post-Sandy conditions:

A sign in Dougan Hills in Staten Island

In one corner of Staten Island, voters were directed from 6am into a tent to cast their vote. The hastily erected tent in the playground of the PS 52 school in Dougan Hills got its heat from a generator and, at least early in the day, its light too. Residents, many of whom are still without power, we're still heading to vote at 2pm. The mood, overall, was upbeat. "It's too important not to vote," said Celetano Dorothy, a local resident.

Just been speaking with an election official who says most of the power being created by the generator is being used by the scanning machines that count and document the votes. That has left no power for light, and no time for lunch.

19.10 (14.10) The President has left his Chicago hotel and is heading towards an unspecified location to carry out an unspecified election day ritual. We'll know more in a few minutes but here's a hint:

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19.00 (14.00) At 7pm tonight a media supercharged by Twitter will begin devouring exit polls from along the East coast. Sky's Ian Woods offer this cautionary tale in 140 characters:

<noframe>Twitter: Ian Woods - It was about this time 8 years ago that a friend of John Kerry confidently told me he'd won the Presidency because they believed exit polls.</noframe>

18.45 (13.45) Our own Mark Hughes has been speaking to voters in Tampa and meets one man whose evolving voting record reflects how much America has changed.

Paul Draper, 67, has voted in every Presidential election since 1968 and believes he has an unusual distinction.

“In 1968 I voted for George Wallace, the segregationist,” he said. “For many years I have been very ashamed of that. But last time I voted for Obama and this time I voted for Obama. I’m probably one of the only people in the country who has voted for George Wallace and Obama.

“This country is no longer about black and white, it is about rich and poor and I despise Mitt Romney. If you have got a million dollars in the bank, sure go vote for Romney but if you are poor why would you vote for him?”

18.35 (13.35) Woah, NBC News says it has confirmed the authenticity of aYoutube video showing an electronic polling machine converting a vote for Obama into Romney in Pennsylvania.

Here's the description the user gave under the video:

I initially selected Obama but Romney was highlighted. I assumed it was being picky so I deselected Romney and tried Obama again, this time more carefully, and still got Romney. Being a software developer, I immediately went into troubleshoot mode. I first thought the calibration was off and tried selecting Jill Stein to actually highlight Obama. Nope. Jill Stein was selected just fine. Next I deselected her and started at the top of Romney’s name and started tapping very closely together to find the ‘active areas’. From the top of Romney’s button down to the bottom of the black checkbox beside Obama’s name was all active for Romney.

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18.25 (13.25) A Democrat staffer in Ohio sent me this picture of Jeremiah and D, two of the youngest members of Obama's get out of the vote team. The photo, taken in a black neighbourhood of Columbus where Obama needs a big turnout, is almost enough to melt your cynicism at the end of this bitter campaign.

But my friend also told me a little story that undercuts the commonly-held pollsters' notion that African-American voters just fall in line behind the country's first black president. Knocking on a door in one of the poorer streets the neighbourhood, she ended up in conversation with a 14-year-old who was torn between the two candidates (even though he has no vote). He told her:

I just don't know who I'm going to vote for. Romney wants to cut food stamps and as a kid I'm really worried about what's going to happen when I grow up. But the thing about Obama is he can't get it done, he can't bring jobs to Columbus. I'm 14 and when I don't think these candidates are worrying about kids, they're worrying about the adults.

18.15 (13.15) It's election day in America and different folks are finding different ways to kill the time unless results actually come in.

<noframe>Twitter: Holly Bailey - Romney press corps is watching one of Paul Ryan's sons just running in circles endlessly in front of the Ryan plane in Cleveland <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=energy" target="_blank">#energy</a></noframe>

18.00 (13.00) There's been a festering sideline to the big show today, which is Romney staffers sniping at Chris Christie, the Governor of New Jersey, over his enthusiastic praise for Obama's handling of the storm. Last night it was reported that Christie had turned down a request to attend a Romney rally in Pennsylvania, even though it was only around 20 minutes from his New Jersey headquarters.

This morning Christie used a press conference to fire back at the unnamed Romney aides:

So all this other noise, I think, is coming from know-nothing, disgruntled Romney staffers who, you know, don't like the fact that I said nice things about the President of the United States. Well, that's too bad for them.

17.55 (12.55) Our own Jonathan Wynne-Jones was in Janesville, Wisconsin, when Paul Ryan voted a little bit earlier. As far as I can work out Ryan is the only person in the country who is voting for himself not once but twice - as well as being on the presidential ticket, Ryan is also up for re-election to his congressional seat.

Jonathan caught up with some Ryan's neighbours in Wisconsin.

Jennifer and Donald Van Wart are old friends of the Ryans and were with the Wisconsin congressman last night.

"He said he's not exhausted, but energised," said Mrs Van Wart, who was in the year above Ryan at Craig High School. "You can see the emotion on his face."

She said that she had not just voted Republican out of loyalty to her friend, but because she believes in Mitt Romney's integrity and ability.

"His ability far surpasses what we've seen from Obama over the last four years. We're at a precipice and need to be turned back before it's too late."

17.45 (12.45) Our video team have pulled together the highlights from both campaigns' frantic final push across the country yesterday. Obama stayed in the Midwest, urging his supporters to hold the line in Wisconsin and Ohio before holding an emotional final rally in Iowa.

Romney raced through Florida, Virginia and Ohio before ending the night in front of a raucous crowd in New Hampshire.

17.32 (12.32) Our parliamentary sketch writer, Michael Deacon, has arrived in Chicago but finds little trace of its most famous resident.

Arrived in Chicago, Obama town, last night. Voters I've spoken to say they're voting Obama again, but for some reason I've yet to see an Obama poster anywhere. Trying to imagine what slogan such a poster would carry. "Vote Obama: At Least He's Not the Other Guy." Or, "Stick with the Incumbent - Because Change Isn't All It's Cracked Up to Be."

17.20 (12.20) In New York City voting post-Sandy seems to be going relatively smoothly, despite continued problems with power and public transport. Here's a diffident looking Mayor Michael Bloomberg waiting in line outside a polling station at a school, presumably to cast his vote for Obama.

But the situation outside the city is not so good. Barbara Arnwine, the executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, has been in New Jersey where she reported that voters were being asked picture ID even though the law does not require it, polling stations opening late and shortages of ballot.

"In a word, there's just one word to describe the experience in New Jersey, and that is catastrophe," she told a press conference, according to Talking Points Memo.

<noframe>Twitter: Raf Sanchez - I am now ready to make an <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=election" target="_blank">#election</a> prediction: both Romney and Obama will swap their current ties for red and/or blue ones later tonight.</noframe>

17.10 (12.10) Our correspondent James Orr has been out in Arlington, one of the northern Virginian suburbs that Obama is depending on if he is to have any hope of carrying that state.

Gregory Muse, 55, voted for Obama in 2008 but now supports Mr Romney. The federal government employee said he voted Republican because he was in favour of "small government and more individual freedom".

"That's the broader context", he said. "I also like Mr Romney's business background. I think he would bring in more business sensibilities to government. I voted for Obama in 2008 because I hoped he would bring the country together in a bipartisan manner. That just hasn't happened."

Joyce Brannon, 70, said she had voted for Obama because of her concern over healthcare and women's issues. She said she also believed the President was the stronger candidate in terms of providing a "better balance between taxation and expenditure."

17.05 (12.05) Polls have opened in Hawaii, Obama's homestate, meaning that voting is now going on in all 50 of these United States.

17.00 (12.00) If you look closely you can see that Romney is also wearing an "I voted" sticker. Though his, unlike mine, isn't in Spanish.

16.55 (11.55) Much has been made of Romney's last-minute decision to march into Ohio and Pennsylvania on Election Day. Is it a sign of desperation or will it be remembered as a brilliant tactical move that expanded the map at the last moment?

Either way, Joe Biden has just landed in Ohio for an unannounced stop before he joins the President in Chicago. Per the pool report:

Air Force Two has touched down in Cleveland, an unannounced but long-scheduled stop en route to Chicago in the state where VPOTUS has campaigned the most this cycle.

Air Force Two wheels up from Delaware at 10:37am and down in Cleveland at 11:37am.

16.45 (11.45) Good afternoon from Washington DC, where the sun is bright, the air is cold and the voting lines are long. It's Election Day and within just a few hours we'll know who will lead America for the next four years.

In some ways voting in an American presidential election is an anti-climax: you huddle among your neighbours and wait to get into a drafty church where you lean on a rickety table and fill in a paper ballot with a blunt pencil. But then you remember that you're helping to decide the next leader of the free world. And that's pretty special.